World Investment Advisors Raises Position in Caterpillar Inc. $CAT

World Investment Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 13.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,344 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,255 shares during the quarter. World Investment Advisors’ holdings in Caterpillar were worth $4,016,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Trivium Point Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 132.9% during the 2nd quarter. Trivium Point Advisory LLC now owns 1,926 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $748,000 after purchasing an additional 1,099 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 78,947 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $26,037,000 after purchasing an additional 7,125 shares during the period. Palmer Knight Co bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 2nd quarter valued at $5,884,000. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 11.2% during the 2nd quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 14,315 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,557,000 after purchasing an additional 1,440 shares during the period. Finally, Ransom Advisory Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Caterpillar during the 1st quarter valued at $427,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Susan C. Schwab sold 2,324 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $410.00, for a total transaction of $952,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 6,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,835,970. The trade was a 25.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Donald J. Umpleby III sold 17,168 shares of Caterpillar stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $412.87, for a total transaction of $7,088,152.16. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 482,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $199,211,839.35. This represents a 3.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 55,985 shares of company stock valued at $25,559,300. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Caterpillar Stock Performance

Caterpillar stock opened at $582.30 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $475.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $406.43. Caterpillar Inc. has a twelve month low of $267.30 and a twelve month high of $596.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34. The company has a market cap of $272.80 billion, a PE ratio of 29.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.46.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $4.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.52 by $0.43. Caterpillar had a net margin of 14.34% and a return on equity of 47.16%. The firm had revenue of $17.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.72 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.17 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 20th will be issued a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 20th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Caterpillar’s payout ratio is 30.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CAT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $502.00 to $557.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $350.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $729.00 price target (up from $582.00) on shares of Caterpillar in a report on Thursday. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $513.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Caterpillar from $500.00 to $570.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $562.25.

About Caterpillar

Caterpillar Inc manufactures and sells construction and mining equipment, off-highway diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives in worldwide. Its Construction Industries segment offers asphalt pavers, compactors, road reclaimers, forestry machines, cold planers, material handlers, track-type tractors, excavators, telehandlers, motor graders, and pipelayers; compact track, wheel, track-type, backhoe, and skid steer loaders; and related parts and tools.